Overview
Built from nothing in the 1970s as a planned resort, Cancun runs along a narrow barrier island, the Zona Hotelera, lined with big hotels facing the Caribbean, with the ordinary Mexican city on the mainland behind. The draw is the sea — warm, clear and pale turquoise — and the beaches, nightlife and easy day trips down the coast. It is the busiest entry point to the region, and quieter shores and ruins lie a short way south.
Highlights
The Zona Hotelera’s beaches face the reef-fringed Caribbean, with resorts, clubs and the lagoon behind for watersports. Day trips reach the Mayan ruins of Tulum and Cobá, the theme parks of Xcaret and Xel-Há, and the cenotes inland. The island of Isla Mujeres and the reefs off the coast offer snorkelling and calmer sands a boat ride away.